Fabric bag for fruits and vegetables



1934- R. J. CHEATHAM 1,942,086

FABRIC BAG FOR FRUITS AND VEGETABLES Filed Feb. 28, 1931 Patented Jan. 2, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT @FFHQE FABRIC BAG FOR FRUITS AND VEGETABLES Application February 28, 1931. Serial No. 518,969

2 Claims.

(Granted under the act of March 3, 1883, as amended April 30, 1928; 3'70 0. G. 757) This application is made under the act of March 3, 1883, as amended by the act of April 30, 1928, and the invention herein described, if patented, may be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposes without the payment to me of any royalty thereon.

This invention relates to an improvement in the manufacture of fabric bags for use in the shipment, handling and/or marketing of fruits and vegetables. At the present time farm products, such as potatoes and onions, are sold to some extent in consumer bags which are made entirely of open-mesh or entirely of close-mesh material. In the first instance, the open-mesh material allows for inspection, but is not suitable for carrying the brand and weight of contents; while in the second instance, the product is not subject readily to inspection, but does allow for printing. However, the great bulk of the farm products, such as potatoes and onions, are handled in large bags, barrels, or in bulk at the time sale is made to the consumer. This requires considerable time of the clerks in weighing and packaging the commodities.

In order to avoid the enumerated deficiencies of the bags now in use, as disclosed above, I have devised a duplex fabric bag so made as to permit the printing of a brand thereon, and at the same time allow inspection of the contents without opening the bag.

In the accompanying drawing Figure 1 is a front elevation of the bag showing the closemesh construction with a portion broken away;

- Figure 2 is a rear elevation of the bag showing the open-mesh portion; Figure 3 represents a portion of the bag fabric showing the combination of the open-mesh material and the closemesh material utilized in manufacturing the bag before being closed in bag formation; Figure 4 is a sectional View through the lower end of the bag.

Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

As shown in the drawing, the bag is constructed partly of a close-mesh fabric 1 and partly of an open-mesh fabric 2. The size of the mesh or open spaces in the fabric may be varied to meet the requirements of the particular commodity to be placed in the container. As

manufactured by me, practically one entire side of the bag is made of close-mesh material 1,

upon which may be printed identifying marks by means of which the grower, distributor, wholesaler or packer may identify himself, through his brand, with his commodities; the other side of the bag is made of open-mesh material 2 through which an inspection of the contents may be made without opening the bag. As used by me, the fabric from which the bag is constructed is woven in one piece, as disclosed in Figure 3. The fabric is also constructed so that in the manufacture of the bag a sufiiciently large portion of the close-mesh material is woven at the selvage 3, which allows for sewing the long side of the bag 6 and since one side of the bag is of close-mesh construction 1, it is possible, in forming the bottom of the bag, to double the openmesh and the close-mesh sections 9 and 10 and sew through two thicknesses of each, the closemesh section being on the outside of the seam 5, thus permitting a stronger bag to be made. After this is done, it is necessary only to turn the bag, as made, inside out. If preferred, the close-mesh at the selvage to the open-mesh fabric may be carried across the bottom of the open-mesh section of the bag, as shown in Figure 3 at 8. Numbers 7 and 8, Figure 3, represent the entire width of the close-mesh strip to the open-mesh portion of the fabric before being folded on line 9 and sewed. Numbers 4 and 5, Figure 1, show the folded portion of the close-mesh fabric after being sewed. After commodities have been placed in the container, the bag may be closed and fastened at the top by clamps, strings, or other suitable means.

Since slight variations in the bag clearly may be made without materially affecting its efliciency, or departing from the spirit of the invention, I do not wish to confine myself strictly to the construction as described above, the primary object of my invention being a fabric bag of openmesh and close-mesh construction, for fruits and vegetables; such bag being capable of having a brand printed thereon, of allowing the inspection of the contents without the necessity of the bag being opened, and incidentally subjecting such contents to adequate ventilation.

Having fully disclosed my discovery, I claim as my invention:

1. In a bag for fruits and vegetables, the combination of a close-mesh fabric with an openmesh fabric woven in one piece, the openings in said open-mesh fabric being large enough to permit the inspection of the contents of the bag and small enough to retain said contents within the bag, substantially one entire side of the bag being of close-mesh construction, and substantially the other side of the bag being of openmesh construction, with a close-mesh selvaged arranged that when the fabric is stitched in the form of a bag, one side of the bag is close-mesh and the other side of the bag open-mesh, with a close-mesh selyaged margin on the open-mesh section of the fabric to strengthen seams.

ROBERT J. CHEATHAM.

gas, 

